European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 6, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday february 6, 1991 the stars and stripes William c. Mann Page 13 commentary Saddam striving to become the next Saladin Egypt in his bloody bid to become a latter Day Saladin Saddam Hussein has won the hearts of Many arabs from the Atlantic shores of Morocco to Yemen a arabian sea coast. Saddam has made no secret of his ambitions. He has compared himself to Saladin the Muslim Warrior who drove the Christian crusaders from Jerusalem in 1187. He even claims to have been born in the same town As Saladin Lakrit. Saddam is now betting that by standing up to one of history a strongest military forces which is. Led by the non arabs All Arab states except Egypt saudi Arabia and its persian Gulf neighbors eventually will come around. To his admirers the iraqi president has become a wellspring of Pride of an Arab people Long ignored or quashed. The phenomenon is nurtured by Arab anger at the United states Leader of the 28-nation coalition whose warplanes Are pounding Iraq and occupied Kuwait. Many  Washington for israelis military superiority Over the last four decades. By playing to those feelings Saddam has stitched together support covering the Arab body politic from Muslim extremists to secular leftists. A with very Day that passes these groups Are getting More United a said Assad Abdul Rahman a member of the Central Council of the Palestine liberation organization who formerly taught political science at Kuwait University. A with every Day that passes they Are getting convinced More and More they should support Saddam  even in Egypt a Small anti War movement is budding. Dissidents such As the Muslim brotherhood find the massive air War against Iraq repugnant. Sajt Yed Rashed a member of parliament and executive of the federation of Trade unions said a any War Between Arab Brothers and any attack on an Arab Force is a calamity for All  but by and Large the aim is to bring Home Egypt a 36,000 troops from the coalition not to support the Man Cairo newspapers Call the tyrant of Baghdad. Most egyptians consider Saddam the despoiled of his country and the economic ruination of theirs. This is not the Case for arabs in other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. A Jordan adulation of Saddam is almost Universal transcending economic and social class. Officially Neutral Jordan a dependence on its larger neighbor is so Complete that Allied attacks on iraqi Tanker trucks caused Amman to impose immediate Oil rationing. Sanctions against Iraq and the loss of tourism because of the War have Cost Jordan billions of dollars. A Algeria Wallet sized snapshots and posters of Saddam Are everywhere in Algiers from Nasbah shops to schoolyards. Teen agers have nicknamed a suburban Public Square a place Saddam Hussein and installed a scud Al Hussein a a makeshift rocket sculpted from an old Utility pole. A a it hundreds of thousands of algerians organized by the fundamentalist islamic salvation front marched through lathe Center of the capital to demand Camps to train pro Iraq volunteers. They did no to get the Camps but they got a declaration of Solidarity with Iraq from president Chad i band Jadid. A Sudan the widespread Fervour for Saddam appears to have come largely from the top. It. Gen. Omar Hassan Elbashir the military ruler whose islam based political views Are becoming increasingly extremist has allowed Many pro Saddam demonstrations. But that stance has Cost Elbashir a virtually bankrupt government dearly. For years tottering sudanese governments have relied on Egypt politically and saudi Arabia Kuwait the United states and other Western countries financially. Sudan now stands alienated from those benefactors at a time when millions of its people face another famine. A Yemen this country in the Southern arabian Peninsula was an Early Strong supporter of Saddam. Many demonstrations have opposed Egypt saudi Arabia and the United states. A on thursday in san a the capital a group of night rid ers fired shots at the . Embassy and hurled dynamite at the embassies of Japan and Turkey. Nobody was Hurt. But support for Iraq also has been muted because of sanctions saudi Arabia imposed on migrant yemeni workers. A Morocco King Hassan ii sent 1,200 soldiers in september to join the anti Iraq coalition in saudi Arabia. But Domestic opposition to foreign troops on Arab soil has grown and now covers the moroccan political spectrum. A. A a a a. A a a a a a a a a a a a Hassan said he would not tolerate Street violence but he has allowed unions and political parties to organize a group called the National committee of Solidarity with the iraqi people. A Tunisia popular feeling runs High for Saddam partly because Palestine liberation organization Headquarters Are located there. Wary of trouble president Zinc cd abiding Ben Ali has deployed hundreds of soldiers around the capital to protect embassies key intersections and other strategic Points. Tear Gas often ends the Many pro Saddam demonstrations that have occurred in Tunis. A Syria president Hafez Assad and Saddam Are longtime sworn enemies. But reports persist of an undercurrent of pro Saddam feeling among syrians. Nevertheless the nature of Assad a authoritarian government makes it difficult to gauge the significance of iraqis support. A Libya Leader Moa mar Qadhafi has kept a Low profile throughout the persian Gulf War. The official Agency Jana has reported demonstrations in several cities Over the last few weeks targeting both sides of the conflict. Mann has covered egyptian and Arab affairs for six years As the associated press Bureau chief. Walter r. Mersin Gulf As vital As that of Wii in the state of the world foreseen by president Bush the . Role certainly sounds like that of a policeman a if not the police chief. Concern about the policeman Slot was part of the debate that preceded the persian Gulf War a debate that has been stilled since combat began but one certain to come Back when peace does. 77rt _ sen. Richard g. Lugar said the other Day that postwar planning is vital now because whatever the precise outcome Olathe War the Middle East could revert to turmoil and a the whole thing devolves Back into a  Lugar senior Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee said such an outcome could undermine voter support for american efforts to maintain world order at the very time that Bush a persian Gulf coalition has shown the Way to do it with International backing. He said Many americans Are a tired of being the policeman and shouldering the Burden a but there a no alternative. Bush observed in his state of the Union address that Only the United states could take the Lead and build the Alliance that is fighting Iraq for invading Kuwait. A yes the United states bears a major share of leadership in this Effort a he said.  nations of the world Only the United states of America has had both the moral standing and the Means to Back it up. We Are the Only nation on this Earth that could assemble the forces of peace. A this is the Burden of leadership a and the strength that has made America the Beacon of Freedom in a searching world a he said. Beyond the Gulf War Bush envisioned a a new world order in which diverse nations become allies in the cause of peace Security Freedom and the Rule of Law. A in that quest he said As in operation desert storm american leadership will be indispensable. A americans know that leadership brings burdens and requires sacrifice a Bush said. A but we also know Why the Hopes of humanity turn to us. We Are americans we have a unique responsibility to do the hard work of Freedom. And when we do Freedom  called this a a defining  in another almost exactly 30 years ago John of Kennedy was inaugurated president with this pledge a let every nation know whether it wishes us Well or ill that we shall pay any Price Bear any Burden meet any hardship,/7 support apy Friend oppose any foe to As i sure the survival and the Success of liberty.�?�. \ a. A. A. A Quot those pledges one from a Democrat one from a Republican sound much alike for All that has changed. Kennedy spoke in a Gold War context that worsened into crises in Berlin and Cuba. His words foretold the policy that led the United states into War in Vietnam. Bush could speak of the end of the cold War of the unification of Germany and of european Freedom a a and. Americans leadership was instrumental in making it possible. He cautiously applied his a new order Standard to the struggle Between the soviet Union and the breakaway Baltic republics Lithuania Latvia and Estonia saying he had a been Given representations that Moscow would ease its military crackdown there. By the same Standard Bush seeks a new economic order fostering expanded and Freer world Trade and in the process creating Export opportunities that would help end the . Recession. That a going to take support and cooperation from partners in the persian Gulf coalition especially Germany and Japan a vanquished enemies in world War ii that grew into economic Powers in the .-led world order that followed that conflict. In shaping his policy and the coalition against Iraq Bush Drew parallels with world War la. He recalled its lessons against appeasement likening his decision to fight with that of president Franklin d. Roosevelt 50 years ago. A no one knew better than president Roosevelt what hard work Freedom really is a Bush said at a Capitol ceremony. A a a. The Triumph of the moral order must still be the vision that compels us a Bush said. A that charge is As True today in the Gult As it was 50 years ago in Europe a nor will it end with the persian Gulf. Inevitably there is always another crisis. C the associated press